Of Tint & Shade
by Strawb3rryL3monad3
Summary: After the death of her much loved farther; the cold, that is her mother, begins it's treck into the darkness leaving behind divided siblings and an heir who wishes to give up the lavish life style, to be a normal child without the fear of abandonment. Only that is too much to ask for; because sometimes blood is just a little too thick and family can be found in friends.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

For the past week, the weather had taken its toll on every poor soul. Rather than bringing rainbows - the rain brought squelching mud and soggy umbrellas. However, by the end of the dull and colourless week, an overwhelming wave of heat had swept through, confusing people as they demanded mother nature to 'make up her mind.'

A blonde woman, in wealthy robes, strolled through each room of her 'beloved' home. A gathering was in full swing and had her socialising with a large number of purebloods, while her sons ran amongst her feet interacting with the other children both their age, younger and older.

The light chit chat and the serving of luxurious canapes had the guest's well entertained and kept Walburga Black's reputation in check.

She found herself strolling the long hall, before making a quick escape to the enclosed back garden- were further guests drank fine wines in the warmth of the sun.

"Ah, Jonathan White, It's good to see you again," The woman addressed a man dressed in a black pin-striped suit. His dark hair was combed back, for he presented himself well- the only concerning thing about his appearance was the deep frown he was trying to hide, causing him to look as if he was in pain.

He held a small child in his arms, she had bright blue eyes and light blonde hair. She continued to wriggle in Jonathan's arms, causing her baby blue, frilly dress to rise up her chubby legs.

"Walburga," he greeted, "As it is you." He spoke carefully, knowing full well this woman was most likely to question him the way she did in

their last encounter. Whether it be his parenting style; his views on supremacy or why he even bothered to marry his 'poor' wife to begin with- she would find a way to make the man feel uncomfortable.

"Where is Euphrosyne, if you're here I expect it's because you were dragged along."

"Rosie is sorting the girls out- she won't be a moment," he gave her a polite smile, "the twins have been acting up against their older sister."

The woman tilted her head upwards, already in disapproval of the man: "Well, you wouldn't have that problem if you disciplined them more often. How old is your eldest again?"

"Err, nine," he hesitated.

Walburga slowly nodded thinking something over, "May I meet her, Is she here?" She quickly looked around the back garden from where she was standing.

"Well, I-"but before Jonathan could give her a full reply, she had spotted Rose scolding two girls who hid behind a tree, closer to the bottom of the garden.

They wore matching floral dresses with different coloured ribbons in their frizzy brunette hair, with matching green eyes they were the spitting image of their mother.

Just below the tree sat a third girl in a white knee length dress, reading a rather large book. Her blonde hair was braided into a crown, displaying the most beautiful flowers in pinks and whites. She looked like her grandmother on her father's side, a woman who had never had the approval of the Blacks, although they put up with her for the sake of being in with the crowd.

Walburga ultimately ditched Jonathan, who was trailing behind trying to stop the woman from interfering; shifting the small child from one hip to the other, as he chased after the woman.

"Rose!" She shouted out to the mother, who turned with a gentle smile.

"Walburga!" she greeted.

While the two quickly caught up, they didn't notice the little girl in the white dress stretch her legs out.

From there, the twins ran and tripped plummeting to the ground with an 'oof' grabbing the attention of their mother and the mistress of the house.

"Callie!" the mother hissed, causing the blonde to look up: a face black of expression, but full of innocence. "What have I told you about tripping your sisters up?"

The girl continued to make eye contact with her mother, expressing no change in emotion neither uttering a word.

"Just leave her be dear," Jonathan placed a reassuring hand on his wife's shoulder.

The woman sighed, "Walburga, you've met my girls have you not?"

"Not in a long time," the woman turned her attention to Callie who had gone back to reading her book.

"Well, as you can see, Calliope is still the mute one." She gave a disappointed smile. "And the twins never seem to be able to sit still!" she squealed as they ran past knocking into her. "And we are yet to discover more about this little one," Rose took the smallest child from her husband, "little Terpsichore is our newest addition."

Mrs Black caught the blue eyes of little Chore, who giggle at the woman.

The twins stopped just in front of their parents and their hostess.

"Hello!" they curtsied together.

"Thalia," Smiled the twin with the pink ribbon.

"And Melpomene," grinned the other with the purple one.

"What a pleasure it is to meet you, miss."

Mrs Black felt a little overwhelmed by the White siblings. If these were the best the wizarding world could cough up for royalty- she had no idea what to make of it.

The twins seemed polite and although high on energy, they had the courtesy to introduce themselves. As for their eldest, Walburga was thinking something along the lines of: 'give her a week with me, and she will speak when spoken too.' There wasn't much the woman could make of the toddler, she wasn't old enough to do things for herself just yet.

She attempted to provide them with a welcoming smile. I said attempted...

"Have you met my sons yet girls?" she pointed back towards the house, no doubt where Sirius and Regulus were causing havoc among guests.

The twins giggled as their mother gave them a nod of approval, before they took off, running off towards the house.

"Callie?" Mrs Black tried to grab the attention of the girl who continued to be engrossed in her book, not daring to follow her sisters into trouble.

Being the stubborn girl she was- she ignored the new stranger, not quite calling her an acquaintance because that would mean she was fine with being in her presence, and she was currently not liking it one bit.

"Would you like to join your sisters inside?" Calliope looked up at the woman, slamming her book shut and causing the adults to slightly jump. She stood up placing her book under her arm, turning in her father's direction.

She began moving her hands around in a flurry, making small signals. Jonathan nodded along in understanding. She finished breathing heavily in frustration, with the tips of her fingers together in a roof shape.

"Very well." Her father gave her a small smile as he tapped his heart.

With one last glance in her mother's direction, Calliope took off. She strolled through the hallway until she came across the stairs.

"Never was one to cry when she was a baby," Rose told Walburga, "Never one for speaking in general."

"Mute suits her," Walburga confessed, "She can't question you."

Callie had made her way past guests and into the Black's library. Inside she found her grandmother perched on the seat of an old armchair, surrounded by a small number of children including Calliope's sisters.

Calliope entered through the door, quietly taking a seat behind the Black siblings. She crossed her legs and rested her closed book upon her knees.

The old women stopped talking for a moment to acknowledge her grandchild, "Callie, my dear, it's so good of you to join us."

Callie just bowed her head in reply, as the faces of many her age, older and younger turned to see the peculiar girl.

"I like your hair," Narcissa Black whispered, mesmerised by the flowers.

Callies' lips turned up in a shy smile. "You chose rather pretty flowers today," her grandmother agreed, "Are there more back home?"

The grandchild nodded, as she was interrupted by her own sibling: "Of course Grandma, what else would you catch little miss perfect doing if it's not a tea party," mocked Thalia.

"It has to be tending the flower beds on the front lawn!" Melpomene added, laughing along with her twin.

"Tea parties are for babies!" Shrilled Bellatrix as she joined the twins in their antics against the eldest White sibling

"That's enough all of you," Grandma White frowned, "Leave the poor girl alone."

Callie raised her hand to her chin pulling it away in thanks, before she walked her fingers up her arms.

The old woman sighed, "Did you not want to stay for tea?"

She shook her head, standing up with her book in her arms, ready to leave.

"Very well," the woman heaved as she brought herself to standing, "We will have to call it a day my dears, Callie must be escorted home."

The children groaned and whined in disapproval. "Now, now," she chuckled, "We can finish the story another day."

"But we were so close to the end!" a small Regulus exclaimed.

"And dinner's almost ready, a fine time to stop and take a break,"

The old woman took callie by the hand and lead her out of the room. "But what happened to the silent princess?" Sirius whined just catching the ears.

"That is a story for another day," she called back up the stairs before exciting the house with child who looked overwhelmed and just about to break down.


	2. Chapter One

"Shoulders back, chin up, crossed shins," with each instruction Callie felt the stiff side of a rod touch the corresponding body part. "And if you relax an inch, you shall face the consequences," the harsh voice of her mother continued.

It had been two years since the passing of her father, and one since the passing of her grandmother. What little kindness Calliope had been receiving at home had gone to the grave and now her mother was hell bent on making her the perfect heir. Still unable to get Callie to open her mouth and speak, Euphrosyne, or rose as many referred to her as had resorted to what she called 'tough love.' Any facade of a kind, gentle woman was gone within seconds of entering their 'darling home.'

Despite everything her mother had taught her, she always reminded herself of the lessons from her father. To always rise up against what is wrong and to hold your head up high and keep on stepping. To be the better person.

Though Calliope was too afraid to stand up to her ill mother, she took her mother's example to be the lesson in what not to do. And as of now, she knew she would never punish her own children in the way she was being punished. Rose left Callie perched on the end of a garden chair, in the middle of a blank room. A large white paned window stood tall at one end, while a dark mahogany door stood at the other. She could watch movement from outside the window and hear mutterings from outside the door, but she was not allowed to join them- instead she was to sit in her chair and not move a muscle. And when the time came she was not to flinch at the touch off a belt or slipper as her mother muttered how lucky she truly was to not get hit with the cruciatus curse.

What had Calliope done to deserve this? Nothing. No, in fact, it was more of a question as to what her younger twin sisters had blamed her for this time.

The door slowly creaked open from behind. The fear was building up inside of her as she held her breath in an attempt to hold the tears.

She had pretty much been sat in that room all day, as the sunlight faded.

"Callie?" a small whisper descended into the silence of the room. The padding of feet quickly stepped over until they stopped in front of the chair.

Stood in her nightgown, Terpsichore frowned at the sight of her older sister who gave her a tight-lipped smile.

"CHORE WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE!" Euphrosyne angrily rushed into the room to pull the eleven-year-old back out. "How dare you!" Callie could hear their mother scold the youngest from down the hall.

Callie was not released from that chair until gone eight o'clock that night. She had missed lunch and dinner and had only managed to have eaten half her breakfast that morning. And so as she stepped around her room, after taking a wash and dressing in her nightgown, she debated whether or not to go to the kitchens.

"Callie?" the small voice of a female house-elf interrupted her thoughts. "Young Mistress White?" She whispered again from behind a small servant's door hidden by a curtain.

Callie ran for the curtain, pulling it aside before unlocking the petite wooden door. Out stepped Calliope's personal house elf, Leesie, with a tray of tea and biscuits. "I thought Young Mistress White could do with some tea," the elf went on as she placed the tray on a small coffee table, "And I know how much the Mistress likes the raspberry and white chocolate cookies Padley makes, so I brought some of those along too."

Callie smiled to herself. "Thank you Leesie but how many times have I asked you to just call me Callie," she whispered gently.

Leesie stopped in her tracks, wide-eyed "Oh my goodness," she stuttered out, "Please forgive me mist- Callie.." The house elf stopped herself as she stood frozen, staring at Callie.

Callie sighed, relaxing her straight back as she gave the elf a kind smile, "Would you care you join me?"

Leesie gave Callie a funny look.

"For tea," she added, taking a small tea cup from a shelf upon the wall.

"Why Leesie would be most honoured," the house elf watched as Callie knelt down and poured tea into the cup, handing it over to her.

Callie poured herself some, before taking a sip from the scalding hot liquid. She peeked from over the brim of her cup to see the hesitation on the elf's face.

She quickly placed her cup back on its saucer before addressing the elf, "What has mother done now?" she frowned.

Leesie placed the cup on the table, "The lady of the house had issued warnings," she leant on the table to whisper, "Any house elf caught out of the kitchen after nine is to be punished severely."

Callie blinked before nodding, "I understand." She opened up arms to Leesie, who gladly accepted an embrace. "Be careful," she told her, "And take your tea with you, split a cookie with the others."

It seemed as if Rose was set on making life difficult for Callie- she knew her eldest daughter had found comfort in befriending the elves. By taking those friends away Callie would be forced into solitude. Usually, Calliope would be grateful for the serene environment, away from loud noises and crowds but she liked the ability to choose, sometimes she needed the company to stop herself from over thinking.

Leesie held on tighter to Callie as she thanked her over and over again. She dashed off back down the servant tunnel in which she came, a tea cup and cookie following behind her.

Callie sighed, she no longer felt hungry nor thirsty but she finished her tea anyway- she needed something to fill the void in her stomach; yet it seemed to do little for her.

She had a long day ahead of her tomorrow and she hadn't even packed for it.

It would be Terpsichore's first day at School and as much as Callie was excited for her, she was worrisome of what the twins had told the school about their youngest sister.

Callie usually found herself being avoided like the plague and spent most of her time in the library. She almost always spoke in sign and the only ones to have heard her voice, had to earn her trust.

She brushed her bookcase with the tips of her fingers, picking out a few wizarding classics along with a few from her grandmother's muggle collection, The secret garden and Little women. They went straight into a trunk, by hand to stop them getting damaged by magic.

She then locked her doors and pulled her curtains. She wanted to try it again- her wandless magic. Her father had been teaching her when he was alive but those lessons had come to a halt. She now found very few moments to practice.

Standing there in the middle of her room, a north wing where her bed and servant door went; an east where her bookcases went; and a west which had been made into a walk in wardrobe, Callie felt a little saner than when she was in the blank room. The central area, of her room, she had made into her own living room; a lounge chair, coffee table and bean bag had been placed accordingly on a soft rug. It was homely, or at least the best of what she had.

With a little spreading of her fingers, clothing began to fly from her closet, folding itself into the trunk. A few pairs of shoes walked themselves from under the bed, while her sun hat and winter wear spiralled in from under her table. She packed everything she would need for a whole year. Their mother would have them leave their things at school during the holidays, as it gave her an excuse to buy them new dresses.

Callie only packed the things she needed, she had left a few things behind last year so she could pack light this time round. Having befriended a few house elves at the school she knew her stuff would be there waiting.

Once the trunk had sealed itself shut, she pushed it to the floor and settle down for the night listening to the hooting of the owls in the back garden.

The summer holidays had been crazy. Callie had spent a record number of times in the blank room; Walburga Black had shown her distasteful face a fair few times and the Twins had been extra nasty this time round. Calliope wasn't sure if it was just their hate for their sisters or the effect of the Dark lord rising.

Thalia and Mel's teasing had gotten so much worse that Chore had made Calliope swear she was not going to follow in their footsteps. It was obvious they wanted to be proud death eaters, but Callie- with a heart like her father's- did not have it in herself to agree with the twins. It was just plain wrong.

This, of course, had caused an even bigger rift to form between the siblings, and soon extended to their mother, aunts, uncles and cousins. The Avery clan took it upon themselves to remind the White siblings of their roots: they may be White by name, but their mother was a pure blooded Witch of the most ancient house of Avery.

Callie would find it hard to believe that her father could love such a woman, which she then thought was harsh and scolded herself for.

She wasn't sure of what time it was when she was awoken by a soft knock upon her door. Callie wondered who it could be, as her mother's knock would have been more urgent and maybe even a little threatening.

Slipping from her covers and into the cold air, Callie dragged her feet across the room so that she could open the door.

Rubbing the blindness from her eyes, she was greeted by the sleepy face of Chore- who looked as if she had been avoiding sleep for a while.

Callie looked around the hall, to make sure no one would catch her little sister out of bed so late at night, before grabbing Terpsichore by the hand and yanking her into the room.

The youngest White sibling gave out a huge yawn. "I thought I would bring you this..." the girl trailed off, reaching into the pocket of her nightgown.

She pulled out a silver necklace with a caged bird. It was a gift from their father: Callie had received on her first day of Witchcraft school. Rose had confiscated it a while ago, never giving it back: claiming that one of the house elves had lost it.

Callie gasped, "Where did you find it?" she spoke in an almost inaudible voice.

Terpsichore continued to yawn. "It was... It was," she struggled to get her words out, "It was in mother's dressing table. With the rest of father's things."

Callie frowned as she traced the pendant with her fingers. "Very well," she pulled her sister into a hug, "Rest- take my bed, I'll take the lounge chair tonight." She gave Terpsichore a kiss on the forehead before tucking her into silk and linen.

it had become almost tradition for Terpsichore to find her way into Calliopes chambers so late at night. Callie had gotten used to sleeping on the day bed so that her little sister would rest, somewhat easier. Without their father or grandmother, they were each other's eyes and ears, helping hands and support.

"Blessed dreams," Callie whispered into the dark as she settled onto the chair. Her wardrobe door opened on command, releasing a blanket which flew through the air. Yanking it down she tucked herself in for the night, subconsciously thumbing the silver necklace.

It was hard being a White, but she would hold her head up high and keep stepping.

The household's morning routine flew by. Everyone was dressed, packed and waiting for their breakfast to go in the foyer.

Leesie stumbled in with a tray of goods, followed closely behind by Padley- Chore's house-elf and his cousin Zonrey who had beakers of hot tea and chocolate.

"Young Mistress white,"Leesie exclaimed as she handed off the pastries to each child. The four of them stood in silence, they were not to speak unless spoken to by their mother. Callie lowered herself down to elf height, as her swing dress gathered on the floor, She carefully took her breakfast from the tray giving Leesie a small wink.

"That's it, all of you out!" Rose shouted to the elves as she stepped down the stairs. "Make the beds, sweep the floors- there is a whole list for you in the kitchen," the woman hissed as she nudged Padley with her foot.

Padley was a much older house elf to Leesie, he had been their fathers when he was small, and so he stumbled when rose put him off balance. He crashed into the floor infuriating the woman more.

Feeling as if she was losing it, Euphrosyne began pushing her children out the door instead; not bothering with the elves. "Out, go, Shoo!"

A carriage awaited the girls at the bottom of the drive, meaning Rose would not have to go far after bidding them goodbye. Euphrosyne claimed she had far better things to be doing than accompanying her daughters to the train station, and so, like every time before; the White siblings travelled in silence until they arrived in London. From there, they would be escorted in a taxi to King's Cross where they would board that all too familiar, letter box red steam train and part ways.

Thalia and Melpomene ditched Callie and Chore as soon as they had made their way onto the platform. The two Slytherins would gather their followers before boarding the train.

The twins were thick as thieves, doing everything together. Like any good Slytherin, they disassociated themselves from the muggle born and kept to their tight-knit groups within their house. They were proud and continued to promote the Avery beliefs despite being a White- their father was no longer there to stop them and tell them no...

Callie gripped onto Chore's hand as people barged passed. They stumbled forward towards the magnificent steam train which Terpsichore found herself unable to look away from. Although she had seen it many times: when she had accompanied her father in dropping her sisters off, she had always found herself being dragged away as if the day would never come.

And finally, here she stood, with her selectively mute sister, about to board.

Calliope knelt down so she was at eye-level with her younger sister. A small smile curved from her lips, yet Chore could see the slight worry in her eyes.

Terpsichore watched as Callie took a deep breath before moving her hands around in a flurry of signs. She nodded along as her sister went over the ground rule the two of them had discussed a few weeks back.

 _-To be careful of their own sisters: they were on their turf now and although there were rules in place at home and in school, it seemed to be a habit of theirs to alienate the two of them._

 _-Family came first: they would be there for each other no matter what and if she needed anything, anything at all: Callie would always be there._

 _\- She could always find Callie in one of her four spots: the library; the kitchens; her room; or the dance hall._

 _\- Family problems stayed at home: ignore Melpomene and Thalia, they were just bullies, and their mother would be infuriated if the wizarding community was not fooled by their prim and proper ways, the blank room was their secret._

Terpsichore nodded in agreement. "Okay. You promise?" She gave Callie a smile as she held out her pinkie finger to seal the deal.

 _'I promise'_ Calliope signed then linked her own pinkie finger with Chores.

"I see you are still as mute as ever," A snobbish remark brought Callie to her full height. Looking in the direction of the voice, the two White sisters were greeted by the presence of Walburga Black.

Callie narrowed her eyes at the woman's smug grin.

"It is lovely to see you again Mrs Black," Terpsicore pulled the woman's attention away from her older sister. It was something their father would do to relieve some of the social anxiety from Calliopes shoulders, so she would not have a full meltdown.

"Yes," the woman struggled to agree. "How is your mother, still planting that dreadful garden I suppose?"

"It appears so," Terpsichore politely continued the conversation, "though I'm sure she means well; father always did say that the Eastern grounds were looking a little bare."

"Yes, well-" to the sibling's delight they were interrupted by the whistle of the train. Callie took it as her opportunity to grab onto Chore's wrist and tug her on board. Of course, not forgetting to bid their goodbyes.

Onboard the Hogwarts Express, the eldest and youngest white siblings moved as elegantly as they could down the aisles between each cart. They passed many students, some of which were polite enough to acknowledge the sisters with a small wave- knowing that it was rare for Calliope White to speak. While others ( i.e. Thalia and Mel's troupe) turned their noses up, mumbling insult which Callie chose to ignore.

They settled into an empty cart, shutting the door behind them.

"You should go, find some first years; make some friends," Callie whispered.

Chore shook her head vigorously, "I'm not leaving you!" she exclaimed. It was loud enough for a fellow student to peer in through the glass as they walked on by.

Callie waited a few short moments to make sure they had left, "Don't worry about me, I've been doing this for five years now, a sixth is nothing; I will be fine."

She could see Terpsichore silently debating it. "Go," she urged her, "I'll see you later."

Terpsichore went in to hug Calliope, she whispered a thank you as she headed back out the door.

When Terpsichore felt comfortable, she was the most energetic of her siblings. Her charisma made her likeable and her quirks were what made her so interesting- Callie had no doubt that, despite the twins rumours, Chore would make someone a good friend.

Callie took a long, deep, breath. This was how it was supposed to be.

She couldn't hold her sister back because she wanted to be selfish and have someone to talk to. Those who usually took the time to converse with her at school, only did so when their own friends were out of the picture. She felt like a burden in all honesty, but she also felt like a puppet on broken strings. No matter where she went her mother's influence followed her -she had to be this perfectly perfect princess and yet she defied so much of it with the use of her silence.

She leant her braided crown of blonde locks against the back of the seat, watching the countryside speed away from outside the window. This would have been the perfect time to have tea with Leesie. She would enjoy a train ride, she thought to herself, that elf was always curious about the world around her and yet she was cooped up in that manor for a lifetime.

Callie would have continued to daydream but noise soon travelled into the compartment as the sliding door was opened wide.

A bright smile belonging to a girl with bright red hair and freckled cheeks entered dragging a trunk at her side.

"Hey!" She cheered, "I hope you don't mind me intruding on your solitude?"

"Of course not Lily," Callie returned her smile although it was not as big or bright.

"Great! Cause I could really use the respite," her grin faltered a little.

Callie giggled, "boy troubles?"

Lily sighed, taking a seat "boy troubles," she agreed.

It was quiet for a moment before Calliope felt the need to break it and clear some things up, from last year.

"I'm sorry." she quickly apologised.

Lily looked at Callie in surprise, "oh don't be, as my mother says boys will be boys."

Calliope frowned slightly, shaking her head, "nooo-" she whispered, "I know how much it still hurts, it radiates off of you." Lily was obviously thinking about something else.

Lily looked at the girl slightly confused, she was honoured to be one of the few who had the chance to listen to her voice but when she spoke, she made little sense half the time.

"Severus..." Callie simply said.

"Oh," it was obvious by the way Lily then began to fidget that she wasn't comfortable with the topic, "don't be sorry," she tried to smile "it wasn't your fault."

Callie just nodded quietly. They sat in a peaceful silence for while, as the train continued on. Callie's face had returned to a sombre, in-depth thinking expression before Lily interrupted it again.

"Thank you by the way..."

"For what?" Callie blinked.

"For sticking up for me..." she explained. "That was a pretty nifty slap," she giggled, re-accounting the incident.

 _Callie had been walking the school grounds, enjoying the warmth of the sun. Students wandered the halls and the gardens, avoiding her like she was a nasty smell despite the vanilla essence which followed her wherever she went._

 _She came across a gathering, jeering and laughter caught her attention. Needless to say, she was intrigued by what was going on. But to her horror, fellow students had begun to pick on each other. The all too famous Marauders were at the centre of it all, their ring leader, as one might say, James Potter, was levitating a Slytherin by his ankles; hanging him upside down._

 _She recognised him to be Severus Snape, a rather quite Slytherin boy who excelled in potions. She remembered once seeing the confliction in his face as the other Slytherins had made him choose which side he was on._

 _Yet despite what he had been told, he continued to associate with muggle-born._

 _Callie spotted Remus amongst his fellow marauders, a twitch of a smile crossing his face._

 _Fuming over the indecency of her fellow wizards she stormed up beside the werewolf, reaching from her much smaller height to tap him on the shoulder._

 _He was startled to see her amongst the crowd and looked apologetic towards her when her hands wavered in disappoint with each sign._

 _She was unable to finish her rant as a familiar redhead stormed onto the scene. She was pink in the face with anger and could not believe her eyes._

 _"Potter!" She screeched, "Put him down!"_

 _Remus just about caught Calliopes audible "uh oh," as everything just seemed to escalate from there._

 _"Stop it!" She continued to defend the boy. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size."_

 _Unfortunately for Lily, her efforts were in vain and Severus named her to be a word Callie was absolutely disgusted by. She wasn't even sure why such an insult existed._

 _The hurt on Lily's face was there in a blink of an eye. She lingered before running off._

 _James dropped Severus as he called out for the girl. A girl he had been hopelessly running after for years._

 _Calliope knew she had a temper when it came to things like these; And having considered Lily as a respectable person, maybe even a friend (as they had been speaking to each other since their third year,) Callie stormed out of the crowd to stand directly in front of Severus._

 _How dare he insult his own friends so cruelly._

 _The crowd stop to watch the Eldest White sibling; Remus shouted her name with a warning tone._

 _Taking a deep breath, Calliope stepped up to Snape and without warning slapped him across the face._

 _Usually, she was against violence, but it felt good to stand up to him- to do something she couldn't do at home._

 _The group of students gasped as Callie swung round to address them all._

 _"I hope you're happy," her voice quivered as she looked each marauder in the eye. She lingered upon Sirius as he struggled to keep a straight face, he had been a pain in her neck since they were small._

 _And, just like that, without warning, she stormed off in the direction Lily had ran._

 _No doubt leaving her peers in questioning: whether or not they had just heard her speak._

"It was nothing, really."

"Nothing? You realised that was the first time anyone had ever heard you speak?" Lily cried out as she smiled.

Callie just shrugged her shoulders.

"You're getting better you know, maybe others will finally get to know you and see what Remus and I see."

Callie blew out a puff of air, "That just makes me want to stay silent."

"Why's that?" lily frowned, propping her feet up on the chair in front of her.

"Because-" Callie mimicked her actions, placing her own Heeled feet on the chair next to lily, "-I'm afraid I'll" Callie's voice was cut off for the gazillionth time.

"Afraid of what?" a smug voice wandered into the compartment.

Callie took one look in their direction, rolled her eyes and stayed silent. She occupied herself by looking out the window once again.

"uh no- I know you can speak, I've heard you- don't ignore me!" they sounded a little hurt.

"Shut up Black," Lily growled.

Remus trailed in behind him, which meant potter was not too far behind. Great all hell is going to break loose, Calliope thought.

"Do you mind? We kinda got kicked out of our last cabin..." Remus gave the two girls an apologetic look.

Callie removed her feet from the seat, it wasn't like she had much of a choice now.

 _'Not at all'_ Callie signalled to Remus, who had been learning sign so that he could communicate better with her in open places. Being the polite boy he was, he felt he should offer his friendship to the lonely girl; who spent most of her days seated in the library; drinking tea and reading books.

Lily moved up a seat so that she was sat in front of Callie. Remus took the seat next to Lily.

"Hey Padfoot!" they could hear James shout from down the train, "Why'd you ditch?"

As James approached their compartment, with Sirius still stood in the doorway he seemed to answer his own question. "Oh, well then," he took one look a Calliope, "that explains it."

Callie's brows furrowed as she looked to Remus for an explanation.

He chuckled and began to move his hands around.

 _'something about an arrangement between your mother's'_

Callie's frown deepened. Squinting her eyes she replied, _'What arrangement?'_

Remus shrugged, _'That's why he wanted to ask you, to see if you knew...'_

Calliope rolled her eyes, _'As if I knew!'_

"What's she saying?" Sirius and James both asked at the same time, they both looked at each other grinning.

"Nothing that concerns you, Potter" lily grunted from her corner.

"Evans!" James exclaimed, "I didn't see you there - how is my lily flower today?"

"urgh," lily replied in disgust, as she muttered the usual insults. Toerag.

 _'What idiots..'_

Lily smiled slightly at Calliope's comment.

James took this opportunity to push past Sirius to sit next to Callie, which gave him the perfect view of Lily.

Sirius soon followed taking a seat next to Remus, after he shut the door.

"So..." James whispered out into the silent cart due to boredom.

"Callie Likes the quiet, if you feel the need to be loud it wasn't your best idea to sit with us," Lily muttered, as she picked at her fingernails.

"Maybe she just needs to learn to speak up," Sirius mocked.

Callie sent him a dirty look.

He chuckled at her reaction, "You are so easy to piss off."

Callie ignored him, as she turned back to Remus- _'Where's Peter?'_ she asked him. Callie had only just realised that the small boy was not present. Usually, he would give her a shy smile and offer her something from his collection of confectionary. She would always politely decline, but it was unusual for him to not be attached, to the rest of the marauders, by the hip.

"Oh, yeah," Remus replied using his voice. "He went to find the trolley."

Callie nodded in understanding. Typical Peter.

"So," Sirius interrupted the awkward calm. "You know how our mothers are thick as thieves..." he looked at Callie who seemed to still be ignoring him.

"Callie?" he tried to pull her attention away from the window.

James poked her in the cheek...

She jumped swatting the messy haired boy away. Looking him up and down, confused.

Sirius clicked his finger, finally bringing her attention to him.

"Walburga and Euphrosyne are up to something, have you any clue as to what?"

Callie innocently shook her head, she then replied in sign which Lily translated for the others- _"Rose doesn't tell me anything anymore. The twins are her favourite."_

"What do you think they are up to ?" James questioned Sirius.

"God knows.." Sirius and Callie whispered together. Their eyes widened as they suddenly looked one another in the eye. Everything dawning over at once.

Everyone else was looking at Callie who had let words slip from her mouth.

"No, No way!" Sirius laughed in disbelief, "they are crazy if they think that would ever happen."

Callie screwed her face up in disgust.

 _"Father would not approve of this,"_ Remus translated her.

"What? What is it?" he questioned them himself.

"Though it makes sense." a small voice added from the doorway. Calliope looked up to see Terpsichore standing there with tear stricken cheeks.

Callie stood up to embrace the smaller girl.

"What do you mean" Callie whispered.

"I heard the twins talking," she sniffled. "The dark lord. Mama's joining the ranks. She and-and Walburga having been discussing an alliance."

"Ohhhh," James exclaimed a little too loud, "Ouch."

"The Winter ball.." Callie sat back on her heels.

"It's the announcement," Sirius finished.

 _'let's not jump to any conclusions...'_ she signed.

"It would explain why you were in the blank-" Callie quickly placed her hand over Chores mouth, stopping the girl in her tracks. She frowned deeply at the information the petite girl was about to spout.

Everyone watched the silent conversation the White siblings seemed to be having with their eyes.

"Okay I'm bored now," James jumped up and began to stretch. "We still have pranks to plan and I don't want to get involved in any family feuds."

"Callie are you okay?" Lily broke her silence.

Calliope nodded slowly.

Peter chose this time to walk in with his arms full of candy. "We need to get into our robes soon," he said with a mouthful of something sweet.

Callie deeply inhaled, standing and walking backwards to her original seat.

Terpsichore moved so Peter could take the empty chair. She wiped at her face before apologising to the group of Sixth years. "I'm sorry, I'm Terpsichore White: Callies Youngest sister."

"It's your first year isn't it!" Lily was dragged out of her thoughts.

"Urgh yes," Chore agreed.

"Brilliant! Calliope has told me all about you- let me show you where you can change." Lily signed a sorry to Callie as she bolted from the cabin, taking Terpsichore with her. Anything to avoid the Marauders and the tension building in that compartment.

Callie remained silent, watching the Scottish countryside fly by the window. The marauders had taken up much of the room now, crowding around some parchment.

It was one of Callie's greatest abilities to fade into the background, so people forgot she was there unless they were directly looking for her.

"You know we don't have to do anything we don't want?" Sirius stopped what he was doing to look at Callie.

She blinked a few times. "We will be killed or disowned," she whispered in reply.

The other boys caught onto what the two were quietly discussing.

"Don't over think it," He told her, while she watched the passing scenery, a tear streaking down her cheek.

Callie took a deep breath, _"I'm not worried about me-"_ she signed, _"It's Terpsichore who needs protecting."_

Remus translated for the others.

The boys soon left to change and lily returned to fetch her trunk, but by the time the train had stationed Callie had not moved a muscle. She had subconsciously sat back into the same position she sat in when she was in the Blank room.

Lily had helped Terpsichore to find a buddy to ride the boats in, and it took all of her strength to coax Calliope out onto the platform and down to the carriages, which would take them the rest of the way.

"You know, I'm here if you need anyone to speak to," she told Calliope as they sat in a carriage. Callie just continued to idly watch the thestrals pull the damn thing, while in a trance.

Her time was coming. she would have to stand up to her mother sooner rather than later in order to protect everything her father and grandmother stood for. To stop the Averys from tainting the White name. To protect her sisters, even the twins (protect them from themselves.)

This was going to be a long year.


End file.
